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After helping to foul up the Tom King murder investigation, DCI Grace Barraclough’s career as a top cop is in free fall. And at this rate, the only uniform she’s likely to see by the end of the year is that of a lollipop lady as she looks in the mirror before going to work each morning.

On her present performance, though, if she’s asked to help out with a pelican crossing, she’ll probably think she has to drag a bird over the road at the local zoo.

First, she screws up an important speech to fellow officers on Monday after a night of passion with her secret lover, the baby-faced killer Carl. Then, called out to investigate Kelly assaulting Carrie the next day, she takes the opportunity to harass Matthew King over his dad’s death, and is then caught snogging the face off her lover boy by colleague Dasari.

Either she finishes the affair, he threatens, or he will tell Chief Constable Vaughan. ‘And if I do that,’ he adds, ‘your career is over.’

Loving the job rather than being on it, she dumps a shocked Carl on Wednesday. But he takes it so badly, he gets drunk and blurts out to brothers Matthew and Dim Jim exactly what he’s been doing in the long arms of the law. No surprises, but menacing Matt knows the best way to deal with the situation.

He tells Jimmy to get Carl out of the country – and then he does a bit of breaking and entering to give Barraclough an unwelcome house call. ‘One. Last. Time,’ he hisses at her. ‘Leave my family alone. Chase some bank robbers, because yer not gunna find anything on us… Push me Barraclough, an’ I’ll do something you’ll regret.’

This is only a wild guess, but he probably doesn’t mean he won’t be buying tickets for the next policeman’s ball, either…

ALSO:

There’s a catfight on Monday after Carrie finds out that Kelly had an abortion to save her career, only to be sacked anyway. ‘You’re a sad, selfish little slapper,’ Carrie snarls, ‘who killed her baby so she could prance around in a bikini… I’m glad they dumped you.’ Unluckily for her, this slapper knows how to slap…